Swansea, Wales is the place I’ve been lucky enough to call home for the past three months and where I have spent the majority of my time this semester. However, most of my blog posts have been about my travels! So this week, I thought I’d share some of my favorite things about the beautiful city on the sea, Swansea.
Swansea, Wales:
- Founding Town Charter: 1158
- Population (2014): 241,300 people
My favorite things about Swansea:
- The People: As far as people go, I feel like I’m living in the midwest, except the people have a different accent. The majority of people are extremely friendly and helpful, and you never feel you are bothering someone by asking a question. Every car seems to let you walk in front of them, and everyone seems excited to say hi to you and can hold a conversation. It’s incredibly easy to get a homey feeling because of the people here!
- The Food: Fish and Chips. Bangers and Mash. Welsh Pasties. Welsh Cakes. Sausage Rolls. Cheap eggs, cheap bread, and cheap bananas. Wales and the UK aren’t necessarily known for their foods, but the foods they do specialize in are incredible. Most of them are seasoned perfectly and always offered with a side of gravy. Healthy? Absolutely not. Delicious? You betcha’.
- The Weather: Before coming to Wales, I was worried I wouldn’t like the weather. I knew that it never got to warm and that it rained quite often. However, the rain is never too hard and never too long, and the constant average temperature of about 50 degrees is comfortable and easy to adjust to. I’m excited to get back into the sunshine and the warmth that an Iowa summer offers, but knowing what you’re getting everyday weather wise is very nice.
- The Landscape: On the south side you have the sea. On the east side you have the marina and the bay. On the north side you have green rolling hills. On the west side you have the Gower peninsula with stunning beaches, cliffs, and free-range animals. Sounds beautiful right? That’s because it is.
- The Pace: There is enough things going on in Swansea, and enough to do that you can always find a new experience. However, it’s not too crazy of a town and you feel safe walking alone at night. It’s fun and exciting when you want it to be, and quiet and relaxing enough when you need it.
Love/Hate Relationship – Public Transportation: The buses are clean, usually reliable, and have wifi. But after a couple of long waits and bus breakdowns, you get to a point where you really miss having a car and driving yourself where you need to go.
Swansea has been great to me these past couple of months, and I’m excited to see what she has in store for these last six weeks or so. I only have one more week of standard classes before the month of exams begin. My exams only take up some of that time, so I will have some more travel stories to share here soon! Thanks for keeping up on all my stories and hopefully you all continue to stick with me as we begin the wind down of this adventure!
Cheers,
Ben
Stories From Swansea 